Retention remains one of the key topics in higher education. There are several established models accounting for student persistence and departure, but few agreed upon solutions. This study examined the effects of a first-year success course on retention and academic achievement at National American University as one of the retention solutions highlighted in the literature.

The data in this ex post facto study were collected from four National American University campuses for the time period beginning with the Fall Quarter 2004 through Fall Quarter 2005. There were two groups observed; the first consisted of first-year undergraduate students who participated in the retention course, Strategies for Success, and the second group consisted of first-year undergraduate students who did not participate in the course.

Descriptive statistics, including frequencies and percentages, were computed to identify the demographic characteristics of the students. Inferential statistics were computed to respond to each of the four research questions and independent t tests were performed to determine if there were significant differences in the groups based on participation of the students in Strategies for Success and for demographic variables. Calculations were conducted for the entire population and disaggregated by campus.

This study found that students who took the first-year retention course, Strategies for Success, were retained at a significantly higher rate, 42% compared to 28%, than those who did not participate in the class ( p<.05). Distance Learning was the only campus studied to show a significant difference in retention, with twice the retention rate for students who participated in Strategies for Success, 55% compared to 27%, (p<.05). Males were the other demographic characteristic found to be significant. Males who participated in the first-year retention course were found to have twice the retention rate over males who did not participate in the course, 41% compared to 20% (p<.05). Another significant finding was that non-white students who participated in Strategies for Success were shown to be retained at over twice the rate (M = .39) compared to non-white students who did not participate in the course (M = .18), t (97) = -2.215, p = .029.